System to enable access to travelling cable dead end hitch from inside an elevator car

ABSTRACT

A travelling cable end hitch and rail arrangement for an elevator system includes a rail assembly fixed to an elevator car of the elevator system, a movable device positioned at and movable along the rail assembly, and an end hitch portion of a travelling cable of the elevator system secured to the movable device and movable with the movable device along the rail assembly. A method of accessing a travelling cable end hitch of an elevator system includes accessing a travelling cable from inside of an elevator car, pulling the travelling cable upward from inside of the elevator car, moving an end hitch portion of the travelling cable along a rail assembly secured to a bottom of the elevator car via pulling the travelling cable upward, and inspecting the end hitch portion from inside the elevator car when the end hitch portion reaches a first end of the rail assembly.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to elevator systems. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to inspection andmaintenance of travelling cables for an elevator system.

Elevator systems typically include one or more elevator cars movablealong a hoistway. To provide electrical power for lighting and sound,communications, and other functions such as connections between a caroperating panel and the control system of the elevator system which islocated generally inside the hoistway, a travelling cable is located inthe hoistway with one end connected to, for example, the control system,and another end operably connected to the elevator car.

The travelling cable must be periodically inspected for conditions suchas wear or shorts, and/or the travelling cable is replaced when needed.In current systems, portions of the travelling cable are inspected bymaintenance personnel entering the hoistway and accessing the travellingcable from the top of the elevator car. Still other portions of thetravelling cable, such as the portion below the elevator car, are onlyaccessible for inspection by maintenance personnel entering the pit atthe bottom of the hoistway. It is desired, however, to performmaintenance operations from inside of the car, and eliminate the needfor maintenance personnel to enter the hoistway pit and consequentlysuppress the need for a safety volume and advantageously reduce thehoistway impact on the building thus saving space.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a travelling cable end hitch and rail arrangement foran elevator system includes a rail assembly fixed to an elevator car ofthe elevator system, a movable device positioned at and movable alongthe rail assembly, and an end hitch portion of a travelling cable of theelevator system secured to the movable device and movable with themovable device along the rail assembly.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the railassembly slopes downwardly with increasing distance from a first end ofthe rail assembly nearest a sidewall of the elevator car.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the railassembly slopes downwardly linearly, curvilinearly or a combination oflinearly and curvilinearly.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the railassembly is positioned below a floor of the elevator car.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a movabledevice stop is located at an end of the rail assembly.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the railassembly includes two rails with the movable device extending betweenthe two rails.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments thetravelling cable end hitch portion is wrapped around the movable device.

In another embodiment, a method of accessing a travelling cable endhitch of an elevator system includes accessing a travelling cable frominside of an elevator car, pulling the travelling cable upward frominside of the elevator car, moving an end hitch portion of thetravelling cable along a rail assembly secured to a bottom of theelevator car via pulling the travelling cable upward, and inspecting thetravelling cable end hitch portion from inside of the elevator car whenthe travelling cable end hitch portion reaches a first end of the railassembly.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments thetravelling cable end hitch portion is secured to a movable devicedisposed at the rail assembly, and the travelling cable end hitchportion is moved along the rail assembly via the movable devicepositioned at the rail assembly.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the endhitch portion is wrapped around the movable device.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments an accessopening in a sidewall of the elevator car is opened, and a travellingcable is accessed via the access opening.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments thetravelling cable end hitch portion is replaced at the first end of therail assembly, the travelling cable is released, and the travellingcable end hitch portion is allowed to move from the first end to asecond end of the rail assembly opposite the first end.

In yet another embodiment, an elevator system includes a hoistway, atravelling cable located in the hoistway, and an elevator car movablealong the hoistway and operably connected to the travelling cable. Theelevator car includes an elevator car floor, a rail assembly locatedbelow the floor, a movable device located at and movable along the railassembly. An end hitch portion of the travelling cable is secured to themovable device and movable therewith.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the railassembly slopes downwardly with increasing distance from a first end ofthe rail assembly nearest a sidewall of the elevator car and the slopeis one of linear, curvilinear or a combination of linear andcurvilinear.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a movabledevice stop is located at a second end of the rail assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed atthe conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features,and advantages of the present disclosure are apparent from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an elevator system; and

FIG. 2 is a another schematic view of an elevator system including atravelling cable;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of a rail assembly for atravelling cable end hitch;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a rail assembly fora travelling cable end hitch; and

FIGS. 5-9 illustrate operation of a rail assembly for a travelling cableend hitch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of an elevator system10 is illustrated. The elevator system 10 includes an elevator car 14configured to move vertically upwardly and downwardly within a hoistway12 along a plurality of car guide rails (not shown). Guide assemblies(not shown) mounted to the top and bottom of the elevator car 14 areconfigured to engage the car guide rails to maintain proper alignment ofthe elevator car 14 as it moves within the hoistway 12.

The elevator system 10 also includes a counterweight 15 configured tomove vertically upwardly and downwardly within the hoistway 12. Thecounterweight 15 moves in a direction generally opposite the movement ofthe elevator car 14 as is known in conventional elevator systems.Movement of the counterweight 15 is guided by counterweight guide rails(not shown) mounted within the hoistway 12. In the illustrated,non-limiting embodiment, at least one load bearing member 30, forexample, a belt or a rope is coupled to both the elevator car 14 and thecounterweight 15 and cooperates with a drive sheave 18 mounted to adrive machine 20. Thus, the elevator car 14 and the counterweight 15 aremoved upwardly and downwardly along the hoistway 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, the elevator system 10 further includes atravelling cable 26 positioned in the hoistway 12 connecting theelevator car 14 to an elevator control system 24 via, for example, a caroperating panel 22 in the elevator car 14. Further, the travelling cable26 may be utilized to provide electrical power and/or communications tothe elevator car 14. The travelling cable 26 is to be periodicallyinspected, and it desired to inspect the travelling cable from insidethe elevator car 14 as will be described in the following.

A rail assembly 28 is fixed to the elevator car 14 below an elevator carfloor 32. A movable device, such as a roller 34 is positioned at therail assembly 28 to be movable along the rail assembly 28 be eitherrolling or sliding and an end hitch portion 36 of the travelling cable26 is connected to the roller 34 by, for example, wrapping the end hitchportion 36 around a roller axle 38, as shown in FIG. 3. While a roller34 is shown in FIG. 2 and described herein, one skilled in the art willreadily appreciate that other elements, such as a sliding pad, may beutilized in place of or in addition to the roller 34 to move along therail assembly 28.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the rail assembly has a first rail end 40 anda second rail end 42, positioned such that the first rail end 40 islocated nearest an access opening 44 at, for example, a sidewall 56 ofthe elevator car 14. The rail assembly 28 further slopes downwardly fromthe first rail end 40 to the second rail end 42. In some embodiments,such as in FIG. 2, the slope is linear, while in other embodiments theslope may be curvilinear or a combination of linear and curvilinear.

Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments the rail assembly 28 includestwo rails 54, with the roller 34 having two roller wheels 46. In theseembodiments, each roller wheel 46 is located in a rail 54 with theroller axle 38 extending between the rails 54. The travelling cable 36is fixed to the roller axle 38 via, for example, a collar (not shown).

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the rail assembly 28 has asingle rail 54 with a cross-section, for example a C-shapedcross-section, configured to retain a roller wheel 46 or sliding padtherein, with the roller axle 38 extending outwardly from the rail 54.Referring again to FIG. 3, the rail assembly 28 further includes aroller stop 48 located at the second rail end 42 to prevent the roller34 from falling from the second rail end 42. The travelling cable 36 isfixed to the roller axle 38 via, for example, a collar (not shown).

Referring to FIGS. 5-9, operation of the rail assembly 28 for inspectionand/or maintenance of the travelling cable 26 will now be described. Asshown in FIG. 5, during normal operation of the elevator system 10, theroller 34 is located at or near the second rail end 42 via gravitationalforces acting on the travelling cable 26 and the roller 34 and the slopeof the rail 54. For inspection and/or maintenance, the elevator car 14is preferably driven to a bottom level of the hoistway 12, and theaccess opening 44 is opened by, for example, opening a panel (not shown)in the elevator car 14. Referring to FIG. 6, a maintenance technician 50in the elevator car 14 accesses the travelling cable 26 via the accessopening 44 and begins pulling the travelling cable upwardly.

As shown in FIG. 7, as the maintenance technician 50 continues to pullthe travelling cable 26 upwardly, the roller 34 and the end hitchportion 36 are moved along the rail assembly 28 from the second rail end42 toward the first rail end 40, until as shown in FIG. 8, the roller 34reached the first rail end 40. Referring now to FIG. 9, once the roller34 has reached the first rail end 40, the maintenance technician 50 mayremove the roller 34 from the rail assembly 28 to inspect the end hitchportion 36 of the travelling cable 26 while inside the elevator car 14.When the inspection and/or maintenance operation is completed, theroller 34 is replaced at the first rail end 40 and the travelling cable26 is released, allowing the roller 34 or sliding pads, and end hitchportion 36 to return to the second rail end 42. In some embodiments, asshown in FIG. 9, the first rail end 40 protrudes from the sidewall 46 ofthe elevator car 14, to improve ease of removing the roller 34 from therail assembly 28 and replacing the roller 34 at the rail assembly 28.

The apparatus and method described herein allow for inspection and/ormaintenance of the travelling cable 26, including the end hitch portion36, from inside of the elevator car 14. This improves maintenance workersafety by eliminating a need to enter the hoistway pit to perform thismaintenance task, and consequently reduces a need for a safety volumeand advantageously reduces the hoistway impact on the building by savingspace.

While the present disclosure has been described in detail in connectionwith only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readilyunderstood that the present disclosure is not limited to such disclosedembodiments. Rather, the present disclosure can be modified toincorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions orequivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which arecommensurate in spirit and/or scope. Additionally, while variousembodiments have been described, it is to be understood that aspects ofthe present disclosure may include only some of the describedembodiments. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not to be seen aslimited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scopeof the appended claims.

1. A travelling cable end hitch and rail arrangement for an elevatorsystem, comprising: a rail assembly fixed to an elevator car of theelevator system; a movable device disposed at and movable along the railassembly; and an end hitch portion of a travelling cable of the elevatorsystem secured to the movable device and movable with the roller alongthe rail assembly.
 2. The travelling cable end hitch and railarrangement of claim 1, wherein the rail assembly slopes downwardly withincreasing distance from a first end of the rail assembly nearest asidewall of the elevator car.
 3. The travelling cable end hitch and railarrangement of claim 2, wherein the rail assembly slopes downwardlylinearly, curvilinearly or a combination of linearly and curvilinearly.4. The travelling cable end hitch and rail arrangement claim 1, whereinthe rail assembly is disposed below a floor of the elevator car.
 5. Thetravelling cable end hitch and rail arrangement claim 1, furthercomprising a movable device stop at an end of the rail assembly.
 6. Thetravelling cable end hitch and rail arrangement claim 1, wherein therail assembly includes two rails with the movable device extendingbetween the two rails.
 7. The travelling cable end hitch and railarrangement claim 1, wherein the travelling cable end hitch portion iswrapped around the movable device.
 8. A method of accessing a travellingcable end hitch of an elevator system, comprising: accessing atravelling cable from inside of an elevator car; pulling the travellingcable upward from inside of the elevator car; moving an end hitchportion of the travelling cable along a rail assembly secured to abottom of the elevator car via pulling the travelling cable upward; andinspecting the travelling cable end hitch portion from inside of theelevator car when the travelling cable end hitch portion reaches a firstend of the rail assembly.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:securing the travelling cable end hitch portion to a movable devicedisposed at the rail assembly; and moving the travelling cable end hitchportion along the rail assembly via the movable device disposed at therail assembly.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the end hitch portionis wrapped around the movable device.
 11. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: opening an access opening in a sidewall of the elevator car;and accessing a travelling cable via the access opening.
 12. The methodclaim 8, further comprising: replacing the travelling cable end hitchportion at the first end of the rail assembly; releasing the travellingcable; and allowing the travelling cable end hitch portion to move fromthe first end to a second end of the rail assembly opposite the firstend.
 13. An elevator system comprising: a hoistway; a travelling cabledisposed in the hoistway; and an elevator car movable along the hoistwayand operably connected to the travelling cable, the elevator carincluding: an elevator car floor; a rail assembly disposed below thefloor; a movable device disposed at and movable along the rail assembly;and an end hitch portion of the travelling cable secured to the movabledevice and movable therewith.
 14. The elevator system of claim 13,wherein the rail assembly sloes downwardly with increasing distance froma first end of the rail assembly nearest a sidewall of the elevator car,and wherein the slope is one of linear, curvilinear or a combination oflinear and curvilinear.
 15. The elevator system of claim 13, furthercomprising a movable device stop at a second end of the rail assembly.